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From the catastrophic cock-up of its 'risk averse' response to the 2017 Manchester Arena bomb, to a damning inspection that four years later found it was still unprepared to deal with a terrorist attack, the failings of Greater Manchester's Fire and Rescue Service are by now been well-documented.
But there are encouraging signs the brigade is turning things around. In today's newsletter we'll hear from GMFRS county fire officer, the refreshingly candid Dave Russel, as he looks back at what went wrong and outlines how he plans to transform the service.
Elsewhere we'll pay a visit to the 'Oxford Road chicken triangle'. You won't find it on Google maps, but if you're a fried chicken fan chances are you'll know exactly what we're talking about.
We'll also find out how beauty salons are illegally offering Botox to under-18s, and we'll see how Manchester City players and staff celebrated Saturday's FA Cup final victory by serenading Elton John!
Fire service emerging from 'long shadow'
It was Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service's 'darkest hour'. Firefighters, desperate to help, were held back by their own commanders from responding to the Arena attack, which killed 22 people and left more than 800 with physical or psychological injuries.
The debacle badly damaged the reputation of the service and widened the gulf of mistrust between frontline crews and top brass. Six years later Dave Russel is the man whose job it is to drag a service viewed by many as rudderless, morale-damaged, and in some ways archaic, into a new era.
It's a big task. But in this wide-ranging and open interview with chief reporter Neal Keeling, GMFRS's country fire officer is crystal clear about what needs to be done.
And he doesn't pull his punches when examining what went wrong in the past. He describes being 'horrified' by what he found when he first joined the service, in the depths of lockdown in September 2020.
He found stations that were unfit for purpose, ageing fire engines and a workforce that was 145 firefighters short. But, just as critically, he says he also discovered a culture that badly needed changing.
"I think it was a service that at the senior level carried a really unhealthy level of corporate arrogance - a service that was driven by the echoes of the past" he said.
"It was a service, which at the time, had a number of long shadows that continue to be cast over it - two hours eight minutes to respond to a bomb in central Manchester; the fact that duty systems were being proposed that would effectively make firefighters redundant; firefighters that did not feel valued; and huge levels of mistrust within the organisation. I think the organisation at a senior level was driven by self-interest rather than the needs of the organisation."
He's now rebuilding GMFRS based on a mix of old school values and relentless modernisation of both kit and culture. His approach has attracted some flak - including his banning of the word 'fireman' and 'gossip'.
There's a zero tolerance of inappropriate behaviour, whether by rank and file staff or members of the command team. Twelve cases of alleged gross misconduct are currently being investigated by the service - of which six are for alleged sexual misconduct.
Five firefighters were also sacked from one station for alleged racist comments made on a watch WhatsApp group.
But his determination to eradicate any remnants of a culture which he believes is corrosive is unswerving. "Authenticity, integrity, and accountability have always been important to me - more than anything else - if I was to survive in this role," he said.
Paying lip service to ID checks
An undercover investigation has found rogue beauty salons in Greater Manchester could be flouting the law by offering potentially dangerous lip fillers to underage teens. It's a criminal offence to give Botox to under-18s for cosmetic reasons.
Experts fear for youngsters' safety as social media pressures drive them to cheap deals. Fillers can cause extreme swelling, blood clots and even blindness.
But Mirror reporter Saskia Rowlands found found two clinics in Prestwich and Salford seemingly prepared to offer the procedure to 17-year-old girls without checking for ID. Saskia approached 50 clinics across England seeking to book lip filler consultations for her 'younger sister'.
But only nine practitioners – less than a quarter – asked for the girls’ age or ID when booking. They then visited eight clinics with two 17-year-old girls, Ula and Lulu.
At an appointment at The Lip King, which operates out of an office block in Salford and has 16,400 Instagram followers, staff said Lulu had 'good shaped lips for filler'. They suggested she have 1ml injected – twice the recommended starting dose.
At Her HQ in Prestwich, a practitioner suggested Lulu start with 0.5ml of filler. Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, a national register of accredited non-surgical practitioners, said it was 'gravely irresponsible' of clinics not to check ID and showed a lack of ethics and safety standards.
She added: "Young girls perceive [filler] as a low risk beauty treatment as opposed to a medical intervention and will seek out providers who do not take appropriate measures to verify that they are over 18."
Jordan Parke, from The Lip King, said: “I was under the impression she [Lulu] was about 19 or 20. She was a pretty girl and her manner of dress led me to the conclusion that she was well over 18.”
Her HQ denied any wrongdoing, saying: “If you had proceeded to book an appointment, a full client consultation would have been carried out as we do not carry out treatments on any persons under the required legal age.”
When Pep met Elton
It's a little bit funny... who you can meet at the airport. Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City team celebrated their FA Cup final win with Elton John on Saturday night after bumping into him on the runway at Manchester Airport on their return from Wembley.
In clear high spirits, Pep and his squad belted out a version of Your Song for the megastar. And after posing for selfies with the like of Kalvin Phillips and Phil Foden, Elton then urged the team to go on and complete an historic treble telling them: 'One more next week'.
The 76-year-old singer had just played his last ever concert in Manchester at the AO Arena as part of his farewell tour. A few hours earlier Ilkay Gundogan struck in each half of the first ever all-Manchester FA Cup final, as City completed the domestic double having already wrapped up the Premier League title last month.
Pep’s side now have all eyes on the treble as they face Italian giants Inter in Saturday’s Champion's League final. And it looks like Elton will be cheering them on.
The Oxford Road Chicken Triangle
When it comes to the 21st Century British High Street the chicken shop is king. Low cost, convenient and very, very tasty, customers were estimated to have spent a staggering £2.6bn on fried chicken last year, according to research firm Mintel.
And in Manchester when it comes to chicken, one street in particular rules the roost. The 'Oxford Road chicken triangle', as it's now been dubbed by M.E.N. food writer Ben Arnold, is home to three of the best fried chicken shops in town.
So Ben went along to try out them out."They’re all close by, so why not pit them against each other in a fight to the death (likely mine, in the future, from clogged arteries)," he quite rightly asks.
In no particular order Ben ran the rule over Bird Of Prey, on Charles Street, which opened up last year and has been feeding the students around the Circle Square development ever since, Chimaek, just a minute away on Hulme Street, and Yoki Social Table at the Society food hall.
It was 'an extraordinary close call', but in the end there was one clear winner. You can find out who came out on top here.
Return to Gigg Lane
Bury FC have taken major a major step forward as the club plots its return to the football league pyramid. The Shakers are set to return to Gigg Lane after the FA confirmed the name could be used once again, Tom George reports.
The decision comes just weeks after supporters voted to merge two fan groups with the aim of having one club playing back at the club's historic home. The Shakers were thrown out of the EFL in 2019 amid financial difficulties
Following Bury's expulsion, a group of fans set up a new team - Bury AFC. Meanwhile, a separate fan group purchased Bury FC's name, assets and Gigg Lane.
Last month, members of the Shakers Community Society, which set up Bury AFC, and Bury Football Club Supporters Society groups, which owns the ground, voted to unite in a bid to ensure men's football returns to Gigg Lane for the first time in four years.
But as the original Bury FC remains in administration, there was uncertainty as to whether the club could use the same name. However, the FA has now given the green light for the name Bury Football Club to be used in competitive fixtures.
It means Bury FC is set to play in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division for the 2023/24 season.
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Weather etc
Temperatures: Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning on Tuesday.19C.
Metrolink strike: Tram drivers are striking on Saturday and Sunday (June 10-11) meaning severe disruption to Metrolink services.
Trivia question: A Bruno Fernandes penalty at Wembley on Saturday meant Manchester City missed the chance to become only the third team in history to win the FA Cup without conceding a goal. Can you the name the team from our region that last completed the feat more than 100 years ago?
Manchester headlines
Opening: A new opening date for Co-op Live, the £365m indoor arena being built next to Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, has been announced. The venue will now open its doors for the first time in April next year, having originally been expected to be completed by December this year. More here.
Baby death: Detectives are investigating the death of a newborn baby at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester. Polly Lindrop died within 24 hours of being born on March 13 this year. Read more.
Murder charge: A teenager has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 51-year-old man in Stockport. Darren McGowan died on May 3, three days after being found with serious inujuries at a house in Offerton.
Worth a read
Staying on the fried chicken theme, Rami Mwamba and Ben Ashurst recently tried the Hotter than the Sun Hot Wing challenge at Bunny Jackson's in Manchester city centre. They had 10 minutes to eat 10 wings drenched in a hot sauce made up of five of the hottest chillies in the world.
If, like me, that sounds like your idea of hell, watching a clearly discomforted Rami describe the sensation as like having a 'steam engine' in his stomach will do nothing to change your mind. It is pretty funny though.
You can find out how they got on and watch the video here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email damon.wilkinson@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Bury. The impregnable Shakers won the 1903 FA Cup beating Wolves, Sheffield United, Notts Count and Aston Villa without conceding a goal before trouncing Derby 6-0 in the final.
